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Leighty’s WWE Evolve Review 7.16.25
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-My apologies as I got home from work last night and my youngest son was waiting on me to set up his Batmobile pop up tent and after watching him and then my oldest, I completely forgot it was Wednesday night. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Peter Rosenberg and Robert Stone
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL
-Recap of last week where Kali Armstrong successfully defended her Evolve Championship against Nattie and then was attacked by Jin Tala, who revealed herself to be the mystery attacker.
-Tonight, Jackson Drake has his first Evolve Title defense against Lince Dorado.
-Vanity Project arrived earlier in the day. Lince Dorado arrived as well!
Kylie Rae vs. Tyra Mae Steele vs. Chantel Monroe
-Tyra comes out wearing her Olympic Gold and another medal, which she gives to a fan in the crowd. I assume Kylie is out there to keep everything together in this match and play ring general. Monroe eats punches from Steele and Rae and they dump her to the floor. Handshake and they have a go. Steele goes to her amateur background and dominates Rae on the mat. She keeps floating over to maintain a front face lock. Monroe rushes in and gets a sunset flip. They all start trading roll-ups but no winner. Steele gets dumped to the floor and Monroe follows with a roll-up on Rae. The kick-out sends her to the floor and Rae follows with a suicide dive onto both women. Back in the ring Rae goes to work on Monroe’s arm and then hits a cannonball in the corner for two. Tyra back in and Kylie runs her face first into the corner. Middle rope moonsault gets two as Monroe dives in for the save. She pins Kylie for a one count and then she gets a one count on Tyra. She goes back to Kylie and gets a two count. Tyra starts to run wild with shoulder tackles, but Monroe counters a move and plants Tyra on her face for a two count. Kyle and Chantel throws blow at each other, but Tyra regroups and runs Monroe into Kylie. That sends Kylie out of the ring and Tyra hits a bringing German Suplex for the pin at 4:44.
Winner: Tyra Mae Steele via pin at 4:44
-The winner was pretty obvious and again, I think Kylie was out there to help direct traffic. Steele got her feet wet out there and they obviously have high hopes for her. She actually showed more promise when she made a few Level Up appearances before LFG. Not sure what happened after those shows. **
-Chuey Martinez is backstage with Jin Tala. She realized she had to be ruthlessly aggressive and needed to create opportunities. She says she was eliminated from LFG because she wasn’t aggressive enough. She won’t let that happen again. She has a match with Bright tonight and is going to show us what real danger looks like tonight. She won’t shake Chuey’s hand as he wraps up the interview.
-SummerSlam! Two Nights at MetLife!
-Stevie Turner meets with Jordan Oasis in her office. He is trying to stay out of the way, buy will be watching tonight’s Main Event. Stevie gives him a Tag Match against Swipe Right next week if he can find a partner.
Jin Tala vs. Carlee Bright (w/ Kendal Grey)
-Bright rushes the ring and attacks before the bell. The ref rings the bell once Carlee is pulled away, but she goes back to the attack as she lands elbows in the corner. Chops from Bright and she stomps Tala down. Jin bails to the floor, but Bright follows and runs her into the apron. Jin lands a shot to turn the tide and gets things back in the ring. She stretches Bright against the ropes while putting a boot in her back. Jin talks some smack and gest a boot to the back for two. Carlee ducks a clothesline and gets a jumping neckbreaker. A standing moonsault gets two! Wendy Choo pops up and stares down Kendal. Bright goes to check on that and Tala catches her with Direct Effect for the pin at 3:09.
Winner: Jin Tala via pin at 3:09
-That finisher needs some work as it looked kind of weak. Not much to this match and I assume we are getting a tag match down the line. Carlee stood out more which makes sense as she has more experience, but Jin still looks a bit rigid and like she is thinking of everything she needs to do. Tala winning is obviously the right call, but she was kind of dominated here and should have won this one easily to justify the payoff of her being the mystery attacker. *1/2
-Wendy Choo disappears after the match.
-Tate Wilder is warming up backstage and is interrupted by Ridge Holland. He doesn’t want to fight right now but tells Tate he doesn’t belong in this business. Tate wants a match with Ridge, but Ridge says Tate is beneath him.
-Clash in Paris! Aug 31!
Chris Wilder vs. Edris Enofe
-Wilder throws punches in the corner. Edris sets him on the top rope and gives a shove, but Wilder takes Edris over the top and the floor. Wilder with a SHOOTING STAR PRESS OFF THE APRON TO THE FLOOR. Sweet! That got the crowd going! Wilder up top, but Edris catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Enofe goes to the ground and pound. Clothesline to the back of the head from Enofe and he slows things down with a reverse chinlock. Enofe tries to use his arm band to choke which gets the ref’s attention. Enofe tries to use the other band behind the ref’s back, but Wilder blocks. Enziguiri from Wilder, but he misses a beautiful moonsault from the top rope. En Passant gets the pin for Enofe at 4:20.
Winner: Edris Enofe via pin at 4:20
-This was like a Level Up debut match down to the new guy taking the loss. Both men showed some solid athletic ability. Wilder’s SSP and Moonsault looked great. I want to see more from him. Ridge was right though when he told Wilder he would lose. **1/4
-Dante Chen is out and he punches Enofe in the face. My Level Up kids are back to fighting each other! Yeah!
-Keanu Carver is backstage and has words from Sean Legacy. He tells him one time and one time only, he better play with someone less dangerous. He is going to hunt down every ID member and send them packing.
-Jackson Drake is walking backstage with Vanity Project and he lets them know he is The Champion for a reason.
-Prime Minster Stevie is backstage and Edris barges into her office. She tells Edris what happened was Fair Play. Edris claims she is biased, so she books Chen vs. Edris for next week.
WWE Evolve Championship: Jackson Drake (c) vs. Lince Dorado
-Super, special in ring introductions. Reminder, that Vanity Project are barred from ringside and Dorado can win the Championship by DQ if VP interferes. This is Drake’s first Title defense. Drake with a headlock, but gets shoved off so he hits a shoulder tackle and then mocks Lucha House Party. Hammerlock from Drake which lets Dorado counter. He ties Drake up and hooks a wacky submission into a pin for two. Dorado off the middle rope with an arm-drag and then a head scissors sends Drake to the floor. Dorado does a fake on a dive as we head to a break at 1:38.
-HHH is on a roof in Vegas to let us know, WrestleMania is running it back.
-Back at 2:24 with Dorado controlling the arm. Dropkick from Lince gets a two count. Lince misses a charge in the corner and then gets dumped off the top rope to the floor. Suicide Dive from Drake and he pounds away with right hands. Back in the ring Drake fires off chops and then shoulders to the gut. Nice belly-to-back suplex followed by an elbow gets a two count. Drake stomps on the hand but then sets too early on a backdrop and gets kicked in the chest. He catches Lince with a Randy Orton powerslam for two and then hooks a reverse chinlock. Drake is bleeding from the mouth as I assume the boot to the chest caught him. Drake with a kick to the back and then a chop. Dorado responds with his own chops, but Drake knocks him down again for another two count. Dorado tries a head scissors counter, which is blocked, but then Dorado turns that into a rana. Lince with a LOUD chop and the hits a handspring cutter. He rakes the back and pulls Drake down for a two count. Armbar, but Drake turns that into a pin for two. Lince maintains arm control, so Drake has to get a foot on the ropes to break. He rolls to the floor and catches Lince throat first on the bottom rope. Lince back with a super kick and heads up top. Vanity Project music hits, but it’s only a distraction. It works as Drake knocks Lince off the top and then hits a powerbomb into a pin for two. Dorado back with a roll-up for two and then another heavy chop. They trade kicks. Superkick from Dorado followed by a brainbuster! Running clothesline and he heads up top. He hits the SSP, but Drake rolls to the floor. Sweet suicide dive with a flip this time! Ricky Smokes pops up from under the ring and holds Lince’s foot which lets Drake hit The UnAliving. A second one ends the match at 10:38.
Winner and Still WWE Evolve Champion: Jackson Drake via pin at 10:38
-Solid match, but I was hoping for a bit more. That ending was kind of wonky as the match was built on the idea it would be a DQ if VP interfered. I know the ref didn’t see it, but everyone else could and that includes Stevie Turner. At worst, she has to mention it. At minimum at least have Smokes wear a mask or something to get some run out of that for a few weeks, ***
-Brooks Jensen comes through the crowd and attacks Jackson Drake. That is two weeks in a row they had a Champion get left laying from a sneak attack.
-Thanks for reading!
